Spicy Cherry Flavoured Wine from Shou Shimaron!
by bluedroplet
Summary: My KKM Christmas Special! It was the Maou's wish, and so it was done. Gunter and the others stage a Christmas party for Yuuri, Sara tags along with his 'boxful' of tricks. Or should it be 'cask full?
1. Chapter 1

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Disclaimer: Kyou Kara Maou! was penned by Tomo Takabayashi and illustrated by Temari Matsumoto.

Pairings: ConradxYuuri, slight SaraleguixYuuri, MurataxWolfram, GwendalxGunter, SaraleguixBerias.

Part I: Yuuri? Surprise!

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It was during one of our trips to Caloria, I was sure of it. The Calorians had been holding one of their annual festivities that time and I was at the balcony together with Flynn-san and Gunter, watching the townspeople celebrate, when I made some offhand comment about a similar annual festivity held on Earth. Flynn-san had seemed interested, so I went on and told her some details about it.

I think I threw in something about wishing something like that could be held in Shin Makoku as well.

I couldn't believe that was all it took for all of this to happen.

"Oi, hen na choko, quit gaping at the others like that. That's not how the ruler of Shin Makoku should act around his subjects!" Wolfram said, tugging at my collar to get my attention. But my eyes stayed on the sight that was laid out before me.

The whole place smelled of pine. Strung on the wall were lots of multicolored paper cutouts and clustered leaves of holly and mistletoe. In the center of the room was a huge round table that was heavily laden with fruits, a roast goose, and lots of pastries. Near one of the floor to ceiling glass windows was an enormous, decorated tree lighted with tiny silver candles that sat on little golden cups. And underneath that tree were a couple of wrapped boxes.

Presents.

_Presents._

_Presents!_

Oh no.

"Heika," Gunter came into view and clutched my arm. "Heika, is something the matter with our preparations? Did we fail to include some vital piece of ornamentation necessary to complete the occasion? If so, you need only tell us what it is and we will do our best to procure them for you at once Heika."

I shook my head at that. "No, everything looks perfect Gunter. But…but why didn't anyone tell me about this before?" I said my eyes still fixed on the mound of presents beneath the tree.

"Because it was meant to be a surprise for you, that's why!" Wolfram replied irritatedly. "Gunter went through all this trouble to get this right in time for your return. The least that you could do now is show some gratitude for his efforts!"

"Oh, ah…" I tore my eyes away from the presents and laughed embarrassedly at that.

"But Heika, the credit is not entirely mine to take," Gunter interjected and inclined his head towards Conrad, smiling. Conrad gave him a smile in return and went to stand beside me.

"I believe the whole lot of us pitched in our share to make this celebration possible for his majesty." He placed his hand on my shoulder, prompting me to lift my eyes up to him. Then he leaned a little ways down and gave me one of those dazzling smiles of his. I felt my heart give a joyful leap in answer to that smile.

"Then I owe all of you thanks, minna, for this wonderful surprise." I said, facing all of them in the room.

They all looked pleased at that. I smiled broadly for all of them, while a part of my mind lingered on other matters.

"Yuuri!"

It was then that my cute little daughter rushed into the room, dragging Anissina and Cheri with her. She let go of the their hands and then leapt into the air towards me. I happily caught her in my arms and whirled her around and around, the both of us laughing like a set of loons. When I was certain the two of us were absolutely dizzy, I stopped and looked at her blushing, giggling, cute little face.

"Greta! Don't tell me you're in on this one too?" I said as I nudged her nose with mine.

"Oh Yuuri," She stopped giggling and rested her head on my shoulder. "I helped Grisela put the glittery balls in the tree. I also made some cookies with Eve, the ones there on the silver tray beside the tarts. I made star shapes and heart shapes and kohi shapes and one big maou-pan," She put her tiny hand on her mouth and giggled at that, then raised her head to look at me. "But not all of them are good. I still need lots of practice, but I made them for you."

She tilted her head to the side and looked doubtfully at me. I wanted to take a picture of her then, something that she could treasure when she grew up. Something that would show my daughter how very sweet she was as she looked like that at me.

"I'm not sure if they taste that good…but I tried my best Yuuri! You will eat some of them, won't you? _Please_? Just one?" She was pulling her best puppy dog eyes on me now, and just how am I supposed to resist her when she was being like that?

"Of course I will. Every single one of them if you want me to."

"Wai!! He'll eat all of them! Did you hear that Eve? Did you hear that Anissina? Did you hear that, Wolfram? Yuuri said he will eat all of the cookies I made!" With that, Greta laughed happily and tightened her little arms around my neck.

"Hmph, he won't eat all of them." Wolfram said and held his arms out for Greta. Greta flung her arms out in response and tossed herself towards Wolfram who caught her easily in his embrace. "Listen, Yuuri, I won't allow you to eat all of those cookies, do you hear me? Greta is also my daughter. Therefore, that automatically entitles me to a fair share of those cookies and whatever else she bakes in the future."

Wolfram was practically breathing the words in face and we were standing so close that one wrong shove could send both of our lips crashing onto one another. That was just way too close for my liking, so I took a step back and bumped into something hard behind me.

At that point, a pair of large hands placed themselves upon my shoulders, grasping them firmly as if holding me in place.

And it was then that I saw Murata make his way towards Wolfram and take a hold of his elbow. He wasn't wearing his glasses tonight and his eyes fully met mine as he leaned close to Wolfram, murmuring something in his ear that sent the blond bishounen stomping towards the table with Greta in tow.

Murata stood there for a while, holding my gaze silently for a few more minutes. Then he bowed and, with one of those sly smiles of his, left to mingle with the others.

When I looked up, Conrad was there towering above me. I blinked at his upside down face in confusion. "What was that all about?"

Conrad gave me a solemn look, more solemn than his usual one that is, and replied. "Perhaps neither of us still has the courage to take things into our own hands, Heika."

"Eh?" I said blankly. He just squeezed my shoulders in answer and gifted me once more with those smiles of his. Predictably enough, my heart did another joyful somersault inside my chest.

Maybe I ought to take a picture of him too, because lately I had found that it was getting more and more difficult for me to leave Shin Makoku for long periods of time. I had grown so used to him being near me, being always by my side, that I had quite forgotten how it felt like not to be near him anymore. It was like I couldn't fully function without him, like an arm or a leg was cut off from my body. Maybe having one of his pictures with me would make me feel less so. Maybe…

"Hei~ka!"

"Cheri-sa-aaah!!"

I was suddenly engulfed- thoroughly and completely engulfed- by soft arms, soft hair, soft skin, and soft breas- ah! What was I thinking! This was Cecile, Conrad's and Gwendal's and Wolfram's mother, for Shinou's sake! She was off limits!

"Heika, please allow me to greet you a very, Merry Christmas!" She said in that silky seductive voice that never failed to set my face aflame. At that moment I was definitely sure that my face was flaming magnificently and so part of me was glad that it was concealed from the rest of the world's view while part of me continued to suffocate.

Then I was breathing, blissfully, blessedly free from the suffocating hug Cheri-sama had me in. I found out that I had my ever-faithful knight to thank for that, as he had pulled his mother off me and had taken over entertaining her in my stead. It took me several minutes to adjust to the lightheadedness I was feeling before my ears picked up on some of the words that passed between Conrad and his mother.

"…from Shou Shimaron you said?"

"Oh yes, and he was undeniably charming and so very handsome, don't you think?"

Shou Shimaron? If Shou Shimaron was involved, then that would mean…

I couldn't explain why the hairs on the back of my neck suddenly tingled. It seemed like everyone else felt it too as the room suddenly hushed up.

Delicate sounding footsteps echoed in our now silent dining hall. I realized that the sound was growing louder and louder to my ears because it was headed for me. I steeled myself, bravely faced the owner of the footsteps with a smile on my face, and was promptly met with the vision of Saralegui, Shou Shimaron's ruler who was about a few years older than I.

"Yuuri, I'm so glad to see you once more," He murmured cordially as he drew near me and clasped my left hand with both of his own, that bewitching smile painted across his face.

I think I've mentioned it before that Sara's looks could give Wolfram a run for his money. Cheri-sama was right, he was charming and mild mannered and- I'd be repeating myself but it's the truth- every time I looked at him, he only seemed to grow more and more beautiful to my eyes. Sometimes I wonder if it's a trick of the light or some such thing.

But still, no matter how pretty he looked, I couldn't help that creepy feeling I got every time my eyes locked onto his.

It was an unsettling kind of feeling, the kind you got when you chanced to see an abandoned house in the middle of the night while you were walking in the middle of nowhere. When everything was dark and there wasn't a light to be seen inside that house but somehow you felt, you knew, that there was someone inside that building, watching you from within. It was something close to that, or it could probably be just an after effect of me watching too much of those old horror reruns before going to bed.

But I just couldn't get rid of that feeling no matter how much I tried. It's as if it's telling me to be careful around him, to be careful around Sara. It's as if it's telling me not to totally put my guard down when I'm around him.

It's as if it's telling me not to trust him.

"Yuuri?"

"Ah, sorry, sorry." I shook my head and gave him a smile in welcome. "It's just, you surprised me with your being here Sara."

"Oh, I did? Then I'm glad." Past those purple lenses, I saw his eyes crinkle in delight. "I've come to Shin Makoku bearing gifts, my dear Maou Heika,"

"Hold on a second, don't tell me they let you in on this one too?"

"I have been…graciously invited by a very lovely close friend of yours,"

This time it was Sara who inclined his head at Cheri-sama and I was really surprised this time. I didn't know those two even knew each other's name. But then again, Cheri-sama did know Fanfa-er, Fanbalen-san I mean, from Dai Shimaron. And if she'd been able to obtain contacts in Dai Shimaron, Shou Shimaron would simply be walk in the park for her.

'_Cheri-sama, you sure are one amazing woman.' _I whistled silently in awe.

"Heika?"

I started and looked first at Sara who was clinging on my left arm, then at Gunter who was now standing at my right.

Gunter gave me a gentle tap on the shoulder and motioned to the far left corner of the room. Right by the windows was another mound. Pale, pastel blue silk had been draped over it to hide it from our view. The whole setup stood about almost as tall as me and the upper part of it was rounded.

Berias, Sara's trusted guard, stood on its left side. Puzzled, I looked at Sara and he in turn looked at Berias and gave him a slight approving nod. Berias moved and swept the silk cover off with one quick motion of his arm.

What we saw were two huge barrels mounted on neatly cut stone blocks. There was a silver tap located on the front end of each barrel. They looked like they had been sitting there for the longest time now, waiting patiently for their cue.

"These are two of the finest and oldest casks from the cellars of Shou Shimaron's best winery, one that has thrived throughout the history of my progenitors' rule. You would do me a great honor if you would accept these humble offerings from our little country, Maou Heika."

Sara said this with a courteous little bow, his left arm gracefully presenting the barrels. That creepy feeling hit me again.

He was leaning forward, those long golden locks of his tumbling playfully over his shoulder and spilling on the front of the pale green shirt that he wore. The shape of his face and the delicacy of his features was truly something to look at, and the color of his eyes…For someone who had such a fine set of eyes with that enchanting pale golden color, I couldn't help but wonder why he chose to hide them so much.

"I…" Those eyes, those lashes- so long and so fine- both seemed to pose a silent plea for me to look at them more closely. It was truly hard not to stare when it came to Sara.

I blinked and shook my head. I had to say something, all of them were waiting for me to say something.

"I accept your gifts, Sara. And welcome," I acknowledged Berias with a nod. He bowed deeply in return. "Both of you, welcome to Shin Makoku."

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AN: Sara's such a sneak, isn't he? More to come!


	2. Chapter 2

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Part II: Share the Love

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And so the evening went on.

After I had accepted Sara's gift and given him my thanks, Gunter gleefully dragged me off to the table. Sara trailed behind us and watched with amusement as my advisor handed me an empty plate the size of a frisbee and proceeded to load it with a sampling of each and every dish within his reach.

It was torture. Gunter was stuffing me like a thanksgiving turkey and when I looked to Sara for help, I saw him engaged in a deep conversation with Cheri-sama. While a part of me was pleased to see the two of them getting along with each other so well, a part of me was having second thoughts about that alliance I had made with him. I mean, if small things like this was enough to send him running to the hills to save his hide, then there was pretty big chance that he would do the same when more serious things started to happen.

I might have ended up humiliating myself in front of everyone if Gisela had not showed up and distracted her father enough for me to make my escape. I sent her a relieved smile as I weaved and ducked across the room, intent on finding a quiet place where my stomach could grumble its protests in peace.

I finally found a vacant spot behind the tree near the glass windows. It was a pathetic hiding place in my opinion, as the backdrop of the night sky with its sparse coating of stars made the glass clear enough to reflect my poor, harassed self in the panes. But since no one was approaching me, I deemed it good enough at the moment. With a weary sigh I eased myself down on the lush mauve carpeting on the floor, crossing my legs in front of me. I rested my back on the large glass windows behind me and prepared to watch the rest of the night's proceedings take place.

Despite the angle of my view on the floor, my station behind the tree gave me a relatively clear view of all of them. Everyone seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves at our little Christmas party. Even Dorcas was having fun.

And who in his right mind wouldn't with a bevy of beautiful ladies at his every beck and call?

Dorcas and his…um, harem were crowded some ways away from the door, directly across my line of sight. Anissina, Grisela and our castle's kitchen threesome were all doing their best to shower him with attention. They were acting all sweet and nice to him for a change, giggling at every comment he made and was generally fawning on him as if their lives depended on it.

That was not a good sign.

They were up to something- I was sure of it. I just hoped that Dorcas was tough enough to survive whatever it was that they had in store for him. He was a decent guy and very loyal too. I'd hate to have anything bad happen to him.

But it didn't feel right to spoil his mood just now. Maybe I'd just tell Conrad about it later and ask him to keep an eye on Dorcas just to be sure.

With that in mind, I muttered a silent prayer for Dorcas' soul and shifted my gaze towards the table.

I immediately caught sight of Eve, the latest addition to our kitchen's fearsome threesome. She had a flair for coming up with all these amazing deserts- a talent that I had previously put to good use by letting her bake Antoine and Leila's wedding cake.

Greta was talking to her animatedly and she was pointing to her cookies on the silver tray. I watched as she picked up a star shaped one and held it high above her head, the white sugar powder lightly sprinkling her curly brown locks.

It was right about then that a pair of well-polished black boots suddenly marched their way up to where Eve and Greta stood. My eyes traced that long length of booted calf up, past the long stretch of heavy green coat and it's restrictive coarse leather belt, past the partially opened jacket and that sturdy looking neck, towards a stern-looking tanned face.

It was Gwendal. He had stopped near the table and was just standing there beside Greta. He had a concentrated look about him and I noticed that his eyes had focused on something on the table. Curious, I followed the trail of his gaze and discovered that it led to Greta's silver tray.

I chuckled at that. Gwendal might play the strongman role all the time, but he wasn't fooling me. Not anymore anyway.

Greta was craning her neck up, trying to peer into Gwendal's face. Her hands were twined behind her back, her eyes wide and wondering. When she found Gwendal staring at her silver tray of cookies, a thoughtful look made its way on her face. Then she looked around as if searching for someone. My eyes finally met hers and I gave her a quick nod and an encouraging smile. She happily nodded right back and went to her silver tray to pick up one of the cookies. She had chosen a big, heart shaped one- about the size of her palm I think- dusted with rainbow sprinkles and powdered sugar like all the others. Then she went to where Gwendal was standing frozen in rigid attention, and offered the cookie to him with a tiny smile on her face.

There was a strong hint of blush on Gwendal's cheeks that even his tan couldn't completely hide and his eyes were bugging out of his head as he looked first at Greta, then at her offering, and back again.

I bit the inside of my cheek hard in an effort not to let the laughter spill out of me. It was hard, so hard, but I managed.

"For…me?" He asked an incredulous tone of voice.

Greta smile widely in answer and shook her head up and down energetically.

Then, Gwendal slowly went down on one of his knees in front of her and carefully took the cookie in his gloved hands. He gave the heart shaped cookie a soft, endearing look and then focused that same look on my daughter. Finally, a faint smile spread itself across his lips.

"Thank you, princess."

Greta jumped up and embraced Gwendal, laughing into his hair. There was a tiny pinprick of possessiveness poking me in my gut somewhere at that act, but I dismissed it. It wasn't like Greta was going off to marry Gwendal and leaving me to live a life of her own. Quickly, I kicked the absurd thoughts out of my head and shifted my gaze towards the other side of the room where a small discussion was taking place.

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AN: I just love it when Gwendal acts like that, don't you? Fixing the next chapters, more to come!

Oh, and Merry Christmas everyone!


	3. Chapter 3

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Part III: Closer to the Flame

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Quickly, I kicked the absurd thoughts out of my head and shifted my gaze towards the other side of the room where a small discussion was taking place.

Sara was there and so was Berias. Wolfram was with them as well. He was saying something to Sara but his lips were moving too fast for me to catch whatever it was that he was saying, and he was backing his words up with hand gestures as if to stress his point further. In contrast, Sara had one of his hands resting loosely at his hip, an indulgent smile on his face. At one point during Wolfram's dialogue, he casually flipped a handful of loose strands over his shoulder and mumbled something that made Wolfram turn a very interesting shade of purple.

Despite Sara's calm outer facade, it was quite easy to see that the two of them were disagreeing about something and, by the looks of things, neither of them was ready to give the other any headway anytime soon.

Not far from all three of them was Murata who had a plateful of something that looked like a slice of fruitcake in his right hand. Judging by the steadily increasing volume of Wolfram's voice, I supposed it was a good thing to have Murata there, close enough to prevent bloodshed when things got out of hand.

Come to think of it, Murata and Wolfram had been awfully close these past few months. It was like they always had an excuse to go off with each other, some business they had to attend to or something- like that time Gwendal sent Wolfram to take care of the bandit incident at the south end of Shin Makoku. Murata had insisted that he had to go along with Wolfram. And then there was that wall breach incident that Wolfram had to investigate. Murata had insisted to come along with Wolfram as well. And then we had that Houjutsu disturbance at the far end of the border that Wolfram had to see to. Murata had been adamant about going with Wolfram on that one as well.

It was as if Murata was trying to insinuate himself in Wolfram's company whenever possible. That was odd. I never knew Murata enjoyed Wolfram's company that much.

It startled me when I felt rough padded fingers lightly brush the hair back from my forehead. It lingered there for a while as if checking for a temperature, then the fingers slid to the side of my face and Conrad's face came level with mine.

"Conrad," I smiled in greeting as he seated himself beside me. "Don't tell me you'd rather spend your time hiding here with me than mingling with the others."

"I told you, I'd never leave you." There was that smile again. Would I never be immune to those smiles of his? "So you'll just have to learn to put up with me, Yuuri."

"And that's supposed to be hard how?" He adjusted the thin, longsword beside him and stretched those long, lean legs in front of him. It felt different somehow, having him this close to me, and I inched closer, wanting more of his presence. "Hey, you just called me by my name without me telling you. That's an improvement!"

"Yuuri," He repeated slowly as if he was savoring the name on his tongue. I became acutely aware of the sudden drop in the tone of his voice, the softness of his eyes as he did so, and I was barely able to stop myself from closing that last couple of inches that separated us and leaning my head on his shoulder.

What was wrong with me?

"I'd say your name over and over again, if that's what you wish. It's a beautiful name, as you are."

"Beautiful?" I protested and faked a horrified look on my face as I stared at him. "I'm nowhere near beautiful. That's something more appropriate to use when it comes to Wolfram-but me?"

"You mean I haven't told you?" Now he was the one faking the look of horror on his face, at least I liked to think that he was faking it. A second later and it was gone, replaced by that soft fond look I knew he reserved only for me. "But you are beautiful. In my eyes you have always been and will ever be beautiful, Yuuri."

"Oh, shut up." It was hot. I needed some air or maybe a cold drink before I spontaneously combusted right on the spot. "Only girls are beautiful. And Wolfram."

"Wolfram isn't a girl." He gently pointed out.

"But he is, beautiful I mean. Anyone with eyes could see that."

"I guess," his voice was playful as he raised his hand to brush his knuckles across my cheek. "It's all a matter of perspective."

"Really," I muttered distractedly as his thumb lingered on my cheek and started to rub caressingly on the skin there. I swallowed the large nervous lump forming on my throat and fixed my eyes on the floor. I caught a glimpse of my hand plucking the fibers on the carpet in agitation.

"Yuuri!"

"S-Sara?" I felt a faint sense of loss stir inside me as Conrad's hand discretely withdrew.

"Stop hiding out here and join us!" He grasped both of my hands in his and tugged me to my feet. Reluctantly, I got up, sneaking a glance at Conrad as I did so.

"Oh, Sir Weller." Sara greeted amiably. "I'm not interrupting anything important, am I?"

Conrad got up and brushed an unseen coating of dust on his uniform and flicked his eyes at me.

"Um, no. Not at all," I said quickly and let my eyes wander around the room.

"Well then," Sara pulled me towards wherever it was that he was taking me. "I would greatly appreciate it if you would do the honors with me, Yuuri."

"Honors?"

It became apparent what Sara was talking about a minute later, when everyone assembled themselves once again in front of the two casks. Sara made a brief speech, something about him being grateful for being invited to Shin Makoku. I couldn't exactly recall what the rest of it had been, my mind was too busy going over the pleasure that small touch evoked in me. Soon, I found myself clapping along with the others when Sara's speech ended.

I watched with disinterest as he opened the cask's tap and placed a glass goblet under that slow, steady flow of red liquid, filling it halfway through. He did the same with the other one in his hand and held the second one aloft for me to take.

"To the alliance between Shin Makoku and Shou Shimaron,"

I didn't drink, had never drunk anything stronger than coffee, but for me to refuse this might be perceived as a slight to Sara.

My hand closed upon the stem of the goblet.

"To the alliance. May there be peace within our countries."

Our glasses clinked. Sara drank his first and I observed in silence as the blood red liquid passed his lips. His eyes fluttered shut as he drank and his head had tilted slightly backward, showing me a view of his flawlessly pale, slender throat.

He blinked his eyes slowly open, lips now tinted with the red of the wine, and focused his gaze on me.

"Go on, Yuuri." He urged softly. "I guarantee the wine's not laced with poison."

"I know. You'd never do something like that." So saying, I raised the goblet to my lips and sipped tentatively at the liquid.

It was tangy and honey sweet with a slight bitter punch at the end. I found myself liking how it tasted and soon I was sipping more.

The others, each with a goblet in hand, moved to get their share of the wine. Cheri-sama and Anissina had taken it upon themselves to explain to Greta why she was not allowed to drink any of the wine. Some time after that Wolfram had decided that Greta had to be sent to bed and so she went to me and made me eat half of my share of the cookies while Wolfram glared watchfully at my back. That done, she clung to me again and kissed me goodnight. Cheri-sama, together with Eve, then escorted her to bed and I watched as the huge double doors folded shut behind all three of them.

The evening passed in a much livelier fashion after that.

Everyone was either singing, shouting, laughing or finding something to laugh at. Gunter and Dorcas, with the faithful audience of Gwendal and the kitchen threesome, had started making their own version of a folk song, or so I was told. To my ears, they sounded very much like a pair of yowling tomcats during mating season. I grinned widely as I refilled my glass. In my mind's eye I saw Gunter, prowling about the castle in a cat costume, looking for his bowl of milk and cream.

I laughed at that and tried to bring the glass up to my lips, but found that I couldn't. I shot a confused look at my hand and saw someone else's hand clamped on my wrist.

"That's enough, Yuuri."

"What? I'm not drunk." I informed the hand on my wrist and tried to shake it off. It didn't even budge.

"How many glasses have you had?"

Cool fingers were running over my face and that feeling came back again, twice as pleasurable. I closed my eyes, my free hand coming up to rest against those large palmed ones, and rubbed my cheek against them.

"This feels good," I whispered and turned my face, wanting to know how those palms would feel like against my lips. "So good,"

I was sure I heard a moan somewhere nearby and I stopped, trying to figure out who made the noise, then shrugged and went back to rubbing my lips on that same palm before giving it a light, wet lick with my tongue.

"Yuuri!"

"Hmmm?"

"Stop that."

"Why should I?"

"The wine. It's making you do this," the other hand, the one busy restraining my wrist, came up and joined its counterpart. I stilled my movements and blinked at the pair of vivid brown eyes staring at me.

"It's the wine." He said firmly and again, those hands left me. I swiftly caught those teasing hands in my own, determined not to let them get away this time.

"No it's not. It's not just the wine. Conrad I..I've always-"

"Heika!"

I felt something sliding itself up and down my back, seconds before a pair of strong arms suddenly wrapped themselves around my waist. I cried out and tried my best to wriggle free as the friction between that something and my body increased, but the grip was unyielding.

"Why do you keep ignoring me, Heika? Like an unwanted mistress you leave me and come back to my arms only when you choose! Why? Why do you keep using me so?"

"Using you? What are you talking about? Gunter, let me go!"

There was laughter and more arms coming around me. Then more laughter as I lurched forward and collapsed into the first available arms I saw. Gwendal's voice was startlingly loud in the background as he berated Gunter's actions. I doubt Gunter had paid any mind to what he had to say though- if the guffaw that erupted from my silver haired advisor was anything to go by, Gunter had taken him as seriously as he would a newbie carrying a twig to his first swordfight.

I looked up from the sheltering embrace I was in, expecting to see Conrad's warm brown eyes. What I saw were shades of gold hidden in purple and while they were pleasing to the eyes, they weren't what I wanted to see.

I shivered and pushed those arms away from me. The hold loosened, but refused to let go. I repeated the action more insistently this time and staggered towards the cluster of familiar shapes and voices. Sighting a chair nearby, I snagged it and seated myself in it with a sigh.

"Life's not always about responsibility and duty, Gwendal." I belatedly recognized the voice as Gunter's. The pitch was off- several notes higher than what it normally was- and there was touch of slurring as he said Gwendal's name. "It's exactly that attitude of yours that's making all these frown lines in your face that you're not even supposed to have at your age-"

"My face is fine. Leave it alone, Gunter."

"What you need to do is to let go of that restraint, enjoy yourself and-"

"We could play a game."

All eyes looked to the owner of the voice who turned out to be none other than Sara.

"Oh?" Gwendal asked cautiously. He was flushed, but he didn't look the least bit tipsy to me. "What kind of game do you suggest we play, Saralegui Heika?"

"It's called Hide the Goblet," He replied in a casual tone of voice and shrugged his shoulders. "It's something played by my people only after imbibing a reasonable amount of spirit. It's not fun otherwise."

"Fun?" Gwendal intoned inquiringly.

"Hah. I doubt anything coming from the human lands could be considered fun." Wolfram sniffed.

"How is this game played?" Murata asked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with the help of his index and middle finger.

"Well, since we've already taken care of the imbibing part," He flipped his hair over his shoulder in a careless gesture. "We only have to have a goblet. Berias?"

Berias gave a bow and swiftly fetched a goblet filled a finger's breadth away to the brim with the wine.

"And of course, players. Is everyone joining?"

Murmurs went around and soon everyone had given their assent. All except Wolfram who announced that he was tired and wanted to retire to his room. Murata grabbed his arm before he could go and after exchanging looks, Wolfram, with a deep frown of dissatisfaction etched on his porcelain features, joined in.

"All right, this is how the game is supposed to go. The goblet will be hidden, the players will seek it."

"Wow, I never would have guessed that."

"Wolfram," Murata shook his head at Wolfram who just huffed and crossed his arms.

Sara seemed unaffected by the remark and went on.

"A spell would be cast on the goblet to conceal its whereabouts and illusions would be scattered in the immediate vicinity to confuse the seekers."

"For that spell –will Houjutsu be used? Being in Mazoku lands will probably cost you twice the amount of Houjutsu for that spell." Anissina asked, tapping a finger on her chin in thought. Gwendal's lips, I noted, were slowly turning pale as she said this. "No. It would be far better to make use of all the Maryoku surrounding you. I have just the thing you need. It's my new-"

"Oh, it's perfectly all right." Sara cut in sweetly. "We'd only be needing a fairly small amount of Houjutsu to accomplish the task. I'm sure Berias would be more than capable of handling it."

"You spoke of illusions?" Gunter asked in a surprisingly sober tone of voice.

"These will be the goblet's replicas. Ah, but I forget." He chuckled. "There has to be an it. In this game, the seekers also get sought. So, will we be drawing straws to find out who gets to be it?"

"Allow me to take care of that minor detail for you. Dorcas!"

"Yes Sergeant Gisela!"

"You will be the it."

"Yes Sergeant Gisela!"

"Good." Gisela nodded briskly and then turned to Sara with an angelic smile on her face. "Please do go on, Saralegui Heika."

Sara gave her an amused smile and went on. "All players found by the it without the goblet loses and has to return to this room and wait for the other players. The it wins if all the players get caught without finding the goblet. The opposite, of course, happens when the goblet is found. The player who finds the goblet will have to return to this room without spilling a drop of the goblet's contents."

"But what if I find the goblet?" Dorcas wondered aloud.

"If you could bring it back with you safely, then the game is over. You win."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then neither side wins and the game ends up in a stalemate. Any questions? None? Then let's proceed, shall we?"

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AN: Only one more chapter to go...Happy New Year Minna! ^.^

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